Are TA's Still Shunning Azamara?

[RichYak]

I have an Azamara itinerary in my crosshairs that I'd like to book. Since this will be my first AZ cruise, I want to use a travel agent that specializes in the brand to help guide me. In an effort to find one, this morning I used the site that allows agents to "compete" for my business.

 

I got one automated response within a minute. Since then, crickets.

 

That's very unusual for this site. I usually get a dozen or so notifications in the first few hours. The only logical conclusion I can come up with is the title of this thread. At this point, I'm not sure how, or whether, to proceed with this booking. Any thoughts or advice?

 

Signed

-concerned rookie

[travelberlin]

I have heard that Azamara pays a low commission to travel agents. In addition, at the moment bookings are demanding and I guess travel agents don’t want to spend unnecessary time for fixing small thinks. 
I hope that will change soon.

Ivi

[uktog]

I am aware of one UK agent who is extremely reluctant to engage with Azamara 

[lisiamc]

5 hours ago, RichYak said:

I have an Azamara itinerary in my crosshairs that I'd like to book. Since this will be my first AZ cruise, I want to use a travel agent that specializes in the brand to help guide me. In an effort to find one, this morning I used the site that allows agents to "compete" for my business.

 

I got one automated response within a minute. Since then, crickets.

 

That's very unusual for this site. I usually get a dozen or so notifications in the first few hours. The only logical conclusion I can come up with is the title of this thread. At this point, I'm not sure how, or whether, to proceed with this booking. Any thoughts or advice?

 

Signed

-concerned rookie

I follow some other groups on social media. There is no shortage of (very good, experienced) agents in those groups who are keen to take Azamara bookings. 

[Mackdogmolly]

My TA will take Azamara bookings, but I sense reluctantly, as he still has to spend hours on hold every time he has to contact them.

[tgg]

Time is money.  My TA can't afford to spend time on the phone waiting for Azamara to sort things out. I don't blame her. Because I have paperwork that details all aspects of my bookings, I know I can sort things out when we board.

 

Travel agents took a huge hit during the pandemic. We can't expect them to waste time on the phone with Azamara now when they need to earn a living.

[RichYak]

The word "reluctant" being used repeatedly in the comments definitely doesn't ease my concerns. If I book, I'd like to do so by end of August to qualify for the early booking bonus. I guess I still have some time to see how this all shakes out.

[crzrr]

Ours has a contact that she has been using at AZ all along.  For about a month post-conversion her contact was having issues as well.  However, that seems to have been resolved and our TA does not seem to be having any issues.

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

The word "reluctant" being used repeatedly in the comments definitely doesn't ease my concerns. If I book, I'd like to do so by end of August to qualify for the early booking bonus. I guess I still have some time to see how this all shakes out.

You can always book direct and then transfer (within 30 days) to your preferred TA. You may receive additional OBC from the TA

[RichYak]

11 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

You can always book direct and then transfer (within 30 days) to your preferred TA. You may receive additional OBC from the TA

Thanks, I do realize that's an option. I usually book my cruises direct, however given recent problems, I'm hesitant to deal directly with Azamara at all. What you suggest would require dealing with them twice: once to book and a second time to transfer.

 

Also, since I generally book direct, I don't have a preferred TA to transfer a booking to. That's the reason I used the website alluded to in my OP--to hopefully find a TA that is fluent in Azamara.

[wjfan417]

I normally make my reservations through an agent that’s a member of Virtuoso-some cruises have extra OBC available or a special excursion. 

[iata]

12 hours ago, travelberlin said:

I have heard that Azamara pays a low commission to travel agents. In addition, at the moment bookings are demanding and I guess travel agents don’t want to spend unnecessary time for fixing small thinks. 
I hope that will change soon.

Ivi

They have the same commission as other cruise line. i know i was one for 35 years, retired 15 years ago.  One of my ex coworker is now my travel agent since then. She is specialized in cruises.  She told me that it’s not that bad. Las time (about three weeks ago) she waited 15 minutes.  2 months ago the waiting time was more than two hours and she said she’s doing something else while waiting. Everything is set for our cruise in september

[travelberlin]

6 hours ago, iata said:

They have the same commission as other cruise line. i know i was one for 35 years, retired 15 years ago.  One of my ex coworker is now my travel agent since then. She is specialized in cruises.  She told me that it’s not that bad. Las time (about three weeks ago) she waited 15 minutes.  2 months ago the waiting time was more than two hours and she said she’s doing something else while waiting. Everything is set for our cruise in september

That’s interesting. Than maybe the commissionable part of the cruise price is less than with other cruise lines. But definitely there is something in terms of financial motivation that is affecting travel agents. I am not a travel agent so I do not know for sure but a couple of travel agents I know mentioned to me that terms have changed with Azamara since the separation from Royal. Some are more keen on selling Celebrity than Azamara now.

 

In relation with the waiting times, I do not find it justifiable that people have to wait long time to get something done. The “doing something else while waiting” does not make it better. It is just annoying and a sign of inefficiencies from the side of the company which makes people wait on line for so long and at the end the issue is not always solved. 
 

Ivi

[RichYak]

2 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Than maybe the commissionable part of the cruise price is less than with other cruise lines. But definitely there is something in terms of financial motivation that is affecting travel agents.

So today I finally got one more competing quote. I can tell you that the amount of agency OBC offered was surprisingly high. It would indicate that Azamara's commissionable amount is in line with other cruise lines. The offer was right around 10% of cruise fare less port taxes.

 

My guess is the financial motivation relates to excess time dealing with the current Azamara customer service debacle.

[tgg]

There are bonus commissions being offered.  I don't know the details.

[govanguy]

7 hours ago, tgg said:

There are bonus commissions being offered.  I don't know the details.

It's 5%

[uktog]

Interesting I am trying to adjust an existing booking (which includes spending more) and the agent just won’t engage. I’m going to go into their shop and sit and see what happens. The previous line has been don’t wait we will call you when it’s done then they call with incorrect response and decline to call again because of wait time. 
 

(yes I’m also now using another agent but I’m not sure they are any better.) 

[Mackdogmolly]

Can the TAs on this board say whether their commission is the same if they initiate the booking or if the booking is transferred to them?

[uktog]

On 6/25/2023 at 8:39 AM, uktog said:

Interesting I am trying to adjust an existing booking (which includes spending more) and the agent just won’t engage. I’m going to go into their shop and sit and see what happens. The previous line has been don’t wait we will call you when it’s done then they call with incorrect response and decline to call again because of wait time. 
 

(yes I’m also now using another agent but I’m not sure they are any better.) 

I sat with the agent this morning and listened to the experience.
All I can say is no wonder some agents are avoiding. Once we got through the agent was constantly having to put us on hold even regarding basic questions (ok that happens) but she was also very very curt and abrupt and at times was what is considered rude in the UK. She also gave information that has now been found to be factually incorrect the cruise is not sold out. 
So Azamara got no extra revenue from us and a travel agency’s less positive view about Azamara has been reinforced. 

[Ayden]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

I sat with the agent this morning and listened to the experience.
All I can say is no wonder some agents are avoiding. Once we got through the agent was constantly having to put us on hold even regarding basic questions (ok that happens) but she was also very very curt and abrupt and at times was what is considered rude in the UK. She also gave information that has now been found to be factually incorrect the cruise is not sold out. 
So Azamara got no extra revenue from us and a travel agency’s less positive view about Azamara has been reinforced. 

Valuable lessons to be learned for Azamara if they take time to read these boards. 

Shame you couldn't be accommodated.

 

[lisiamc]

I have four cruises currently booked with two travel agents. One cruise has been in place for while, but two of the other three are new, and one is a change of a previous booking. Both agents are game to ring Azamara and do what is required. If they weren’t, I’d be on the lookout for new agents. The agent who has spent the most time on the phone lately because of transferring deposits to a different cruise has said that things like hold times are really improving lately. He lets me know when he gets someone extra-helpful on the phone, which has been much more often recently. (I am hoping that this light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train. I’m kidding! I really do think things are improving.)

Edited June 28, 2023 by lisiamc

[gowilk]

i personally know 4 agents that will only book Azamara if pressed…and they were well aware of my past preferences, common statement is the time it takes to get through and the frequency to fix errors….talk about killing the golden goose, these are the people who would recommend subtly or sometimes overtly who should your money with and most don’t do it with the mere incentive of one commission.

[laurieb]

On 6/22/2023 at 10:52 PM, travelberlin said:

I have heard that Azamara pays a low commission to travel agents. In addition, at the moment bookings are demanding and I guess travel agents don’t want to spend unnecessary time for fixing small thinks. 
I hope that will change soon.

Ivi

not true in the US, higher than most cruise lines

[wangeling gal]

Wow!! I haven’t engaged in this board since 2018 when a booked Azamara cruise out of Vancouver was changed and we were eventually offered our deposit back after much haggling by our TA, as the change wasn’t what we were looking for (repositioning )Then the world went mad, and life took unexpected twist and turns, and I haven’t needed to be back on here until now. But what is  glaringly obvious is that the same customer service issues with Azamara onshore, that I first read about 10 years ago when I took my first Azamara cruise & that my TA encountered 5 years ago , be it via a TA or people booking and using websites themselves, are still letting down what is a fabulous at sea experience. We know they read these boards so why aren’t they doing anything about it?

Edited July 1, 2023 by wangeling gal

[Grandma Cruising]

11 minutes ago, wangeling gal said:

Wow!! I haven’t engaged in this board since 2018 when a booked Azamara cruise out of Vancouver was changed and we were eventually offered our deposit back after much haggling by our TA, as it wasn’t what we were looking for. Then the world went mad, and life took unexpected twist and turns, and I haven’t needed to be back on here until now. But what is  glaringly obvious is that the same customer service issues with Azamara onshore, that I first read about 10 years ago when I took my first Azamara cruise & that my TA encountered 5 years ago , be it via a TA or people booking and using websites themselves, are still letting down what is a fabulous at sea experience. We know they read these boards so why aren’t they doing anything about it?

To be fair to them, they are slowly improving the website and communicating about how to use it.